2022 Team Previews: Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals Fantasy Preview 2022
All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.
** = target in drafts at this ADP
Top 120
Ja’Marr Chase, WR (ADP: 9): Chase is a pretty easy player to peg in 2022. He’s absolutely amazing. He went nuts as a rookie for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns, even though he was playing with other excellent receiving options in-house, an elite running back and one of the worst pass-blocking lines in the NFL. He averaged 18 yards per catch last year, but managed to still have elite volume. This ADP makes perfect sense, and if a fantasy manager were to be dead set on him and draft him higher, I’d have no issue. Chase can absolutely finish as the WR1 in fantasy.
Joe Mixon, RB (ADP: 10): Mixon finally had his touchdown breakout, scoring 16 total touchdowns in 2022 after failing to crack double digits in his first four NFL seasons. When Mixon is healthy, he’s been a lock for 1,100+ rushing yards, meaningful contributions in the receiving game, and around eight touchdowns as a minimum. The scoring might look like a fluke, but really this is more likely the Bengals’ offense catching up to Mixon’s talent. Cincinnati now has a devastating aerial attack, meaning defenses can’t afford to load up on Mixon. He’s one of the safest possible picks in fantasy.
Tee Higgins, WR (ADP: 31): Higgins is where we start getting a little hairy. There’s no questioning the talent; Higgins graded as PFF’s No. 9 WR, only two spots behind Chase, and he popped for 1,091 yards and six touchdowns. Higgins is built for red zone work at 6’4, 215 lbs. and he’s also a serious threat downfield, averaging 14.7 yards per reception. The one issue Higgins had in 2021 was consistency. As talented as he is, Higgins is the clear-cut No. 2 in this passing game, and when Chase is scoring touchdowns, that means Higgins isn’t. To be clear, Higgins would be the No. 1 on many, or maybe even most, teams. When he detonates, it’s spectacular. Higgins topped 100 yards four times last year, scoring four touchdowns in those games, and even scorching the Ravens for close to 200 yards to go along with two touchdowns. We also saw Higgins post four games below 50 yards, and endure a six-game stretch with no scores. I love Higgins as a player, and he will win people weeks, but at this ADP he could prove a bit inconsistent, and ultimately unsatisfying. My hesitation has much more to do with the depth at WR than the player himself, but I’m a little wary of him inside the Top 30.
Joe Burrow, QB (ADP: 55): Burrow’s ADP has gotten a little crazy for me, which is strange to say after hyping up all his skill players. I covered the risk of Burrow here, but it’s worthwhile to revisit. Burrow’s stats in 2022 were really strong. He threw for 34 touchdowns and 4,611 yards, while regularly going deep – we like that! – and finding Chase and Higgins constantly. His volcanic eruptions in the fantasy playoffs made him the stuff of legend, and that’s showing in this ADP. The problem is that those supernova performances were not his entire season, and they kind of need to be to justify this ADP.
Burrow has shown he can run the rock in the past, but since his knee injury as a rookie, he didn’t do much rushing in 2021. He’s still playing behind a shoddy pass-blocking line, and the Bengals likely don’t want the franchise putting himself at risk for massive hits. Operate as if Burrow’s going to keep the scrambles to a minimum, and have close to zero designed runs. That means he’s a pure pocket passer, and those player types need insane yardage and TD efficiency to keep up with the running QBs. Burrow had 4,611 yards in 2022, which sounds great, but he’s going ahead of Tom Brady (5,316 yards, No. 81 overall), Matthew Stafford (4,886 yards, No. 90 overall), and Kirk Cousins (4,221 yards, No. 113 overall). Yes, Burrow is younger than those players and he has elite receivers, but Brady has a Mike Evans/Chris Godwin duo, Cousins has Justin Jefferson/Adam Thielen, and Stafford has a Triple Crown winning WR (Cooper Kupp), along with the NFL’s best offensive mind. Of course, Burrow could be better than these guys, but how much? Enough to pass on receivers like Courtland Sutton or RBs like Damien Harris and Clyde Edwards-Helaire? The value is just not there without the rushing upside. I love Burrow as a player, but absolutely hate this ADP.
Fantasy Relevant (121-200 ADP)
Tyler Boyd, WR (ADP: 136): Boyd is a forgotten man with Chase and Higgins lighting it up, but he ranked inside PFF’s Top 50 as well, and finished the year with 67 receptions, 828 yards and five touchdowns. Boyd finished the year with six games of five or more receptions, and broke the 70-yard mark five times, with a 69-yard game thrown in. He’s not going to see the volume he once did prior to Chase’s arrival, but Boyd is a solid option in deeper leagues, especially half-PPR and full-PPR formats. He also has a lot of upside in the event of a Chase or Higgins injury.
Sleeper Class (200 & later)
Hayden Hurst, TE (ADP: 213): Hurst has failed to live up to his first-round billing, but he flashed his potential the most in Year 1 with the Falcons, his third NFL season. He caught 56 passes that year for 571 yards and six touchdowns. Hurst is a pure pass-catching TE, and TEs drew 83 targets last year. In fact, C.J. Uzomah was the fourth-most targeted Bengal in 2021, at 63 targets. Hurst is a superior receiving option to Uzomah, and he will be the furthest player from defensive coordinators’ minds when they are prepping to combat this offense. Hurst could be a sneaky source of TDs in 2022, and at worst will be a high-end streaming option.
Samaje Perine, RB (ADP: 253): Perine was the primary backup to Mixon last year, and he drew a lot of third downs. He’s not fantasy relevant whatsoever without an injury to Mixon, but he is the preferred handcuff if that happens.